If you’re like most people, you spend most of your workday on a computer that doesn’t have a 10-key numbers pad. There you are, hunting and pecking the numbers along the top row of your keyboard. It’s slow, frustrating, and makes data entry take that much longer to accomplish. You didn't plan on spending several hours keying in totals – you've got other things to do. So, what’s the alternative? How do you speed things up?
Luckily, you’re not the first person to have dealt with this challenge. There’s a reason 10-key number pads exist – to make life easier for those of us who need to do a lot of numerical data entry. Business owners, their Bookkeepers, and Accounting Professionals everywhere can all appreciate a good numbers pad. Let’s face it, the faster you can enter the digits, the more efficient your workflow becomes. That means less time wasted and more productivity.
There are a variety of numeric keypads out there. Many are Bluetooth enabled which is great for those who prefer a cordless workspace. This feature also makes it easier to store in a laptop bag, backpack, or purse for business travel, back and forth between office spaces, or working remotely from home. An external keypad can go from your office desktop to your laptop tray on the couch too. Many also double as calculators. Some have a basic layout of keys while others have a more extensive set. For example, you can find keypads with arrow buttons, delete, esc, home, page up or down, etc. In addition to the 10-keys.
If you find yourself entering numbers across many different fields, like within a Spreadsheet or inside of an accounting system such as QuickBooks, then having a Tab key on your number pad is especially handy. This allows you to enter numbers as you tab across various fields faster than clicking through them separately with your mouse or trackpad.
You can also set the number pad to either side of your work area to reach it more easily with your dominant hand. Having an external keypad also give you the ability to use the mouse or trackpad with one hand while you use the number pad with the other. This is much faster than having to stop using the mouse to click some numbers and then going back to the mouse. Both hands can be contributing to data entry.
As you start to review the various options for number pads be sure to make a list of the features that are important for your specific workflows. That way, you can weigh the pros and cons of each type of keypad out there and find the right one for you. Once you add it to your work area, you’ll probably wonder how you got by all this time without one!
Have a favorite 10-Key Numbers Pad and can't live without it? Be sure to tell us about it. We're always on the lookout for technology tools that make Bookkeeping & Accounting work better!
